Landscape my heart
by IEatBooksForTea
Summary: Rio hasn't looked at any other guy since she met Neil. Her eyes have always been filled with him. The only thing is, he never looks back at her. An intimate story of love, loss and landscape. [One shot] [Neil x Rio]


**A/N: I wanted to write something descriptive and almost intimate in style – this is the result of that desire. **

**Enjoy x **

**(Please leave a review if you liked it; or if not as the case may be **** )**

Looking into Neil's face was like looking at a beautiful landscape.

His cheeks were gentle, rolling hills or the curve of soft waves, his nose the tip of a cliff, shaped and carved by the water of an ocean. His eyes were whirlpools, swirling, rich blues, or lakes shaded by generous trees the shade of eyelashes. The space below his mouth was the dip between two hills – one hill the curve of his chin, the other a field of roses the shape of his lips.

It was a landscape I couldn't look away from. The problem was he didn't look back very often.

"The sky's big," I found myself stating obviously, even if just to make conversation.

I swiftly kicked myself mentally at the stupidity of the comment. Of _course_ the sky was big. I had made myself sound like an idiot. It didn't help that the only response I got from Neil was a nonchalant – or unimpressed – "mmph."

Really, I hadn't expected Neil to come when I had asked him yesterday.

He hadn't even looked at me. He was too occupied with tending to his cows at his stall that I had thought he hadn't heard me – or was ignoring me. But then, after a long pause, I had been surprised at the word being carved by his lips. "Sure."

So here we were; stood underneath the blanket of a sky, the deep navy of it decorated with thousands and thousands of stars. The frosty grass that was crunched underneath our feet sloped down on either side of us, towards the pond behind us. The leaves of the bushes and trees that curved around rustled in the atmospheric silence – and that atmosphere was even more awkward than I had anticipated it to be.

I shivered in the cold air, moving my eyes to look at the night sky like you were supposed to do during the Starry Night Festival. Neil didn't seem to notice how cold I was in the bitter, winter air. He seemed to be fighting off his own freezing beasts by curling up the collar of his shirt and burying his hands deep into his pockets.

I couldn't remember the last time I hadn't thought of Neil in the way I did. It was hopeless – anyone else would have told me to have given up a long time ago. Neil was clearly not interested. It was obvious by the way he treated me – rudely and dismissively. But I was so taken with him, I always forgave him immediately, making up excuses for his actions.

Yet there would be a point I would have to give up. I had thought that his acceptance of my invitation to come tonight was hop that something could finally happen between us.

By the looks of it, that wasn't going to happen.

I sighed. This was pointless. I had to get real with myself. Neil was untouchable – I could look at him all I wanted, admire the landscape of his features, the curve of his cheeks and the deep pools of his eyes. But he was _never_ going to look back.

Just as I was about to excuse myself and slink back home in defeat, Neil finally took a breath and spoke; "I always thought it looked like you."

I blinked, shocked at the sound of Neil's deep voice, quiet voice echoing in the frosty air. Then I took a numb, hopeful step forward, following Neil's gaze with my own and was met with the night sky. Did he mean a star? "Which one?" I heard my quiet voice, too scared to be excited, stutter.

Neil looked oddly thoughtful for a brief second before stating, "All of it."

The night sky? He meant the whole of the night sky.

"You're always…" Neil started before I could reply, struggling to find the right word. He let the word out as soon as he'd discovered it. "Glowing."

I hadn't realised that I'd been holding my breath until I let go of it in shock. The awkward gentleness of Neil's voice – as if his body wasn't used to the existence of it – was something I had never heard before. I didn't want to get my hopes up and yet I couldn't stop my heart from bursting.

The sky and the land; they always met at a point.

So this was out horizon?

I looked at Neil for two beats. His eyes were fixed on the stars above us, golden hair like autumn leaves falling gracefully over the landscape of his face.

Then, in one breath, he turned. There was a small smile kissing his lips as he finally looked at me.

And I was lost all over again.


End file.
